Splintered Fragments
by Meimi no Kage
Summary: In the beginning, there were three heroes, who having suffered devastating loss must still try to save the world and each other. And fail at both. Cruxis spoilers
1. Undesired Complications

**Splintered Fragments  
Memory File 01 - Undesired Complications  
_by Meimi_**

---

Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with Namco or anyone who hold rights to Tales of Symphonia. It isn't mine, I'm just playing with it.

Spoiler Warning: The entirety of Tales of Symphonia. If you haven't beaten the game at least once and don't want to be spoiled, read no further.

---

"This isn't going to work."

"I'll make it work!"

Kratos Aurion gave a long-suffering sigh as the pervasive empty silence of Derris-Kharlan was once again broken by his companions' squabbling. Such an occurrence had been happening more and more often of late. He supposed he should be thankful for it, of a sorts. The return of Yuan's more _acerbic_ personality quirks meant that the half-elf was finally starting to claw his way out of the deep well of grief he had fallen into after Martel's... _death_. Unfortunately, his choice in targets for said quirks left much to be desired.

Yuan and Mithos had never gotten along spectacularly well. They backed each other up well in battle, could even agree on matters on a regular basis if necessary, but there was always another argument looming on the horizon for them. If it had not been for Martel they would have likely killed or severely wounded each other within the first week of meeting. In fact, it was Martel who usually broke up their frequent arguments and made them see reason. However, Martel was no longer with them, or at least, not in the capacity necessary to make them stop.

Sighing once again, Kratos wove his way through the elven ruins of Derris-Kharlan, following the familiar sounds of contention. Since Martel was no longer able to keep Yuan and Mithos from murdering each other, the duty fell to him.

"Separated as they are now, your _worlds_ can't produce enough mana to maintain themselves." Ducking his way through a cracked doorway, Kratos observed as Yuan gestured at a holographic map of the two new worlds in agitation. "As it stands, it will only take a decade or so before the lack of mana causes them both to wither beyond the ability to support life. How exactly are you going to _make_ that work?"

"I don't know yet," Mithos glared poisonously at Yuan before glancing thoughtfully at the map. "There are many factors that must be weighed first before I can decide on what to do about the mana shortage. There's still time."

"Still time?" Yuan scoffed, his eyes growing dim with painful memories. "It doesn't take much time at all for lives to be ripped away."

"Yuan, enough," Kratos called out, cutting Mithos off before he could retort. They both had contrite expressions on their faces as they looked at him, but he could sense the hints of rebellion barely kept in check. Keeping their arguments in hand was never going to be easy, but it was to be expected. He had their friendship --well, grudging acknowledgement in Yuan's case-- and respect, but it was Martel's love that had allowed them a common ground. He could only hope to head them off before they got vicious about it.

"Kratos, are you sure you should be walking around so much?" Mithos asked worriedly. "Isn't it too soon?" Kratos blinked and tilted his head in surprise at the instant shift in subject.

"He'll be fine as long as he doesn't overtax himself," Yuan hmmphed as he skirted around the holograph generator and headed out of the room, his previous argument with Mithos apparently forgotten. Stopping beside Kratos for moment, he glanced over and gave a brief warning, "So don't."

Watching Yuan's departure, Kratos frowned in slight confusion. The half-elf actually seemed to be... concerned about his well-being, which was quite odd. Yuan _tolerated_ him, would even acknowledge his abilities and sometimes it had even appeared as if he considered Kratos a friend of sorts. However, in the end he was still a human in Yuan's eyes. Or at least, that was what he had always been led to believe.

Shaking his head at those thoughts, Kratos joined Mithos beside the map of the worlds and sighed. Yuan's assessment was correct, unless they did something soon to rectify the mana shortage, there wouldn't be much left to justify their separation.

"He's worried about you. We both are," Mithos quiet voice, heavy with grief now that Yuan had left, dragged Kratos away from his contemplation. While Yuan's grief seemed to be lifting bit by bit, Mithos' only seemed to grow deeper. Kratos hated seeing his friend so broken, but truthfully he had no idea on how to help. Crippled as he was by his own grief, he couldn't see any way to rectify the situation.

"I am fine, Mithos," Kratos said, putting as much sincerity into his voice as he could muster as he grasped Mithos' shoulder and squeezed gently.

"No, you're not," Mithos murmured, shaking his head before leaning forward suddenly, wrapping his arms around Kratos' waist in a desperate embrace. "I know better. We almost lost you too. We should have, but I'm glad we didn't."

'I'm sorry Mithos, but I don't think I can share that sentiment,' Kratos thought to himself as he brushed his fingers soothingly through his friend's hair. The crystal situated on the back of his hand glowed dully for a moment, a reminder that he didn't need. The constant empty ache inside of him was reminder enough of what should have been there but was no longer. He had failed and should have died for it, but death refused to come. Did it scorn him because of his failure? Or perhaps, in the end, he did not deserve it.

"Kratos, I'll make it better somehow. I'll make it all better," Mithos said, a hint of steel in his tone as he closed his eyes. "Just you wait, I'll fix everything... one way or another."

---

The situation did not change much in the following days. Yuan was as prickly as ever and Mithos was prone to distraction, though more so than usual. They did still have two worlds to save somehow, and as the bearer of the Eternal Sword and their _leader_, the final decision would fall to him. As for Kratos himself, the physical weaknesses he had endured began to fade, but the aching void where the majority of his soul should have been remained hopelessly empty. He wasn't sure why he continued to go about the motions of life, but perhaps it was because he didn't know what else to do.

When he was not fielding another argument between his companions, Kratos was either getting checked over by Yuan --who had, for some reason or another, taken on the role of the resident healer-- or was out wandering the ruined hallways of their present home. For a comet turned planetoid that had been abandoned for centuries, Derris-Kharlan was in fairly good condition. The elven architecture was in ruins, yes, but not dangerously so. He surmised that this was most likely because that there had been nothing left behind to encourage the eventual decay, just time. It was strange really, that a comet made entirely of the substance that promoted and maintained life, was in itself lifeless and empty. How terribly ironic.

It was during one of the moments he would stop his wandering to ponder upon said irony that Mithos found him. The half-elven boy looked quite harried, probably the results of yet another fruitless argument with Yuan. Hmm, _boy_... Yes, even with all that they had been through, Kratos did still think of Mithos as a boy. For all the force and strength of will that he could and would display at times, Mithos still had many childish habits. His usual reactions to Yuan's pessimism being one of the more obvious ones.

"Kratos," Mithos began hesitantly as he made his way across the dusty floor, stepping over the occasional heap of broken stones that had fallen off of the walls, "Do you think you're well enough for a bit of sparring?"

Kratos considered the question and what Mithos was actually after. He was not at his full strength yet, but he seriously doubted he ever would be again. There was just too much of himself that was _missing_. And Mithos did seem to be in need of a distraction that would actually clear his mind for awhile. However, Mithos' magic had been quite strong even back when Kratos' strength was at its peak. There was no telling just how much stronger it was now, and avoiding the use of magic would make the exercise pointless. Mithos simply could not clear his mind completely when limited to melee attacks. Still, if this was something that could actually help his friend out, it was something that he could do.

"Yes, I believe so," Kratos answered finally, hoping that this wasn't going to turn out to be a bad idea on his part.

"Wonderful," Mithos smiled brightly, the first truthful seeming smile that had dawned upon his face in months, turned on his heels and headed back the way he had come. He did not call back for his companion to follow him, but the implication was there and so Kratos obeyed. "There's this nice open area not too far back this way that will work perfectly. It must have been a courtyard or something of the like, thus it's quite clear of debris."

Kratos hummed noncommittally as he trailed behind in Mithos' wake, his mind straying to his soon to be immediate concerns. His mana had replenished itself steadily since his first awakening after... since his first awakening here. It was almost back to its normal level, and was unlikely to grow any stronger. There were some wounds that just could not, or would not, heal and the mana seemed to recognize that fact. It had changed though. How or why it had done so, he wasn't sure of, but somewhere between then and now the warm green energy he was so accustomed to had transformed into a chill blue, almost the color of the sky. He had no idea of what to make of the change. Was it a good thing? Was it a bad thing? Did he even really care whether it was good or bad at this point? Frankly, he was starting to lean more towards a definite _yes_ on that last question.

"Kratos?" He glanced up quickly, startled out of his thoughts by the call. Mithos stood in a crumbling doorway that led out to what must have been the courtyard he had found earlier. He gazed at Kratos with an odd expression on his face which was made even stranger by the play of light falling in from the doorway. It made him seem far more innocent, perhaps even so far as angelic, than any of them had the right to be. The illusion was broken, thankfully so, when Mithos' lips quirked up into what could only be considered a devilish grin. "Don't get so lost in your thoughts that I catch you unaware. Yuan would never _shut up_ if I showed up with you torched, drowned, electrocuted, or all of the above."

"Do not be concerned. You shall have my full and undivided attention for the duration," Kratos said as he gave an answering smirk, his left hand unconsciously gripping the pommel of his sword.

Laughing gaily in response, Mithos spun around and ran across to the far side of the courtyard. Once there, he took up an easy, ready stance and waited for Kratos to signal to begin. In the beginning that seemed so long ago, when Kratos had agreed to help train Mithos in both magic and weaponry, it had been different when they sparred. It had usually been Mithos who attacked first, then Kratos would land Mithos on his rear and show him what he had done wrong. But as Mithos grew stronger, the lessons became less of what he had done wrong and more of just a way for them both to keep their edge.

Drawing his sword, Kratos stepped out into the light. A reddish-orange haze seemed to envelop the blade, licking up from the point, not unlike a flame. An intentional illusion, he knew, but impressive nonetheless. If he been able to discover the smith of such a treasure, then perhaps he might have sung their praises at one time or another. However, circumstances prevented that knowledge from ever being known. War had a way of erasing such things.

A string of conscious directives and a muttered incantation combined together to give form to mana, and with a flick of his wrist Kratos sent a fireball hurtling towards his former apprentice. Their match had begun.

Mithos easily countered with an Icicle spell before gracefully ducking under Kratos' follow up Sonic Thrust and swiftly rolling out of the way of a Demon Fang. While he had never been very good at sword skills, thanks to Kratos' tutelage Mithos had become very, very good at avoiding them. Grinning wickedly as he rose, Mithos sent a Grave spell hurdling under the ground. However, Kratos recognized it instantly for what it was and deftly leaped out of range of the earth spikes.

"You seem to have recovered far more than I had thought," Mithos said conversationally as they faced off, mana swirling between his hands, ready for thought and words to give it form. "Perhaps Yuan's concerns are unfounded."

"Yuan's concerns?" Kratos asked, instantly calling forth a Guardian spell to deflect the Flame Lance Mithos flung at him. Quirking an eyebrow quizzically, he lowered his sword, waiting for an answer and Mithos' next move.

"Yes," Mithos tilted his head to the side thoughtfully as he paused in the creation of another spell. "Our latest _discussion_ was about that. He seems to think that you're going to break any minute now. You won't, of course. You've recovered quite well actually, but try telling him that and he blows up at you."

"I see," Kratos frowned, lightning crackling down the blade of his sword as he absently noted the mana between Mithos' hands turning a deep blue. Yuan didn't think he was recovering? Why had he never mentioned that during one of their many _check ups_? That didn't make sense... unless Yuan was trying to keep it from him. But why?

Shrugging, Mithos fired off an Aqua Laser at Kratos who swung his sword up to meet it head on. The resulting explosion of water and lightning magic threw them both back across the courtyard.

"You know," Mithos began, brushing himself off as he climbed to his feet, "I never really noticed it, but magic really does get stronger when it's linked to its opposing force."

"Who would have guessed," Kratos muttered sarcastically as he picked himself up off of the ground.

"Well asides from the whole explosion part," Mithos laughed self consciously, "It really does strengthen itself the closer it gets to its opposing force. I wonder if it's a survival mechanism." Frowning, he crossed his arms and started tapping his foot on the ground as an idea started forming in his mind. "I wonder if it could actually maintain that level of power if it was linked together, but prevented from touching, thus preventing the explosive byproducts."

"Mithos?" Kratos called out, hoping to catch the boy's attention before he completely lost touch with reality. Noting the look on his friend's face, Kratos sighed and sheathed his sword. Their sparring session was most definitely over if he was reading Mithos correctly.

"Oh, right, sorry," Mithos mumbled, giving himself a little shake before blinking owlishly up at his companion. "Do you mind if we stop now? I think I've got something and I want to hurry up and check it out."

"I do not mind," Kratos smiled gently down as the young half-elf, who now appeared very eager about something. Gesturing towards the doorway that appeared to lead back to the heart of the ruined city, Kratos made shooing motions, "Go on."

"Okay!" Mithos dashed towards the door, but stopped and whirled around before heading in. "Thanks Kratos. This really helped." He grinned and waved cheerfully before turning around and rushing off.

Kratos shook his head in bemusement. Some things never changed. But then again, some things did. He frowned as his thoughts went back to what Mithos had said earlier. Yuan's concerns. If Yuan doubted his recovery, then did he think that he would never recover? And if that were true, did Kratos really care? He had to admit, to himself if no one else, that the void within was not improving nor was the pain it caused.

While he did not voice it, and the others would not dare, he knew that part of his soul had been ripped away in that final battle. And he knew why. He should have died from it, but somehow he had survived. However, survival notwithstanding, the true wound to his soul wasn't healing. He wasn't sure it ever would. No one had ever survived such a thing before and lived to tell the tale, which left him with a dilemma and a very unpleasant reality. What was he going to do _now_?

Sighing wearily, Kratos shook his head and decided that pondering upon it now would serve no purpose. Perhaps he should try and help Mithos out with whatever plan the boy was concocting. It would be something for him to do other than wandering about moping over everything that had happened.

Taking a step forward, he stumbled, his strength bleeding out of him as if through a sieve. Well, it appeared that agreeing to spar with Mithos had been a bad idea after all. His sight dimmed as the void within seemed to grow exponentially, stealing the warmth and breath from his body, and he fell. He fell... forever, but before he reached the end of his descent something caught him. No, someone.

"You idiot."

Yuan?

---

A chill ache, that settled deep into his bones, preceded Kratos' slow return to consciousness. It was not a familiar sensation, though it vaguely reminded him of the change his mana had taken of late. As if in response to the cold, the emptiness within his soul somehow shifted, almost as if it were a living thing; then the ache was numbed as a wave of nothingness washed over him. For a brief moment he felt nothing, nothing at all. And then it was gone as if it had never been.

There truly was something very wrong with him.

Sound came then as time made itself known to him again. There was a soft, mechanical hum coming from something not too far to the left of him. Computers, most likely, which meant he had to be in the building Yuan had designated as his lab. The only other place with working computers was the central control room and he would certainly not be in there. There were no cots in there, and if he could still trust his sense of touch he was certainly lying prone on one at the moment.

He sensed someone leaning over him before he felt fingers gently brushing his hair to the side and touching his forehead. Familiar tendrils of mana probed at his soul then, a soft touch, meant to examine, not harm. Yuan.

Blinking his eyes wearily before opening them fully, Kratos caught an odd look of consternation on Yuan's face before it smoothed back into his usual clinical detachment. That didn't bode well.

Withdrawing his hand abruptly, and thus ending his examination, Yuan scowled, "That was a stupid stunt you pulled."

"No argument there," Kratos mumbled as he stretched, trying to get an idea on just how stupid it _had_ been. The sickening weakness that jangled along his nerves in response told him that it had been _quite_ stupid indeed.

Yuan snorted in derision, "I told you not to overtax yourself. This is what happens when you do not listen to me." Gesturing airily to illustrate his disdain, Yuan turned to check the readouts on one of the many computers sprawled haphazardly about the dimly lit room. "Just be grateful I was keeping an eye on the brat, otherwise you'd still be out there with your face planted into the ground."

Kratos frowned, his eyebrows crinkling a bit as he vaguely remembered what had happened before he had passed out, "I didn't hit the ground."

Yuan looked back at him, surprised, "No, you didn't. I caught you."

Already knowing that that had been the case, Kratos nodded anyway, "Thank you."

Yuan snorted again at that, "Don't thank me yet, you did yourself no favors." Seating himself on a tall stool, the half-elf crossed his arms and sighed. "I'm not entirely certain yet, but there is every indication that you are slowly getting worse. And it's not just from this latest _idiotic_ incident, it's been a very steady decline ever since the Great Kharlan Tree was destroyed."

Noticing Kratos' pained wince at his mention of the great tree, Yuan gave him an apologetic look, "I am sorry, but we really must talk about this." He waited for a grunt of agreement from Kratos before continuing, "The initial damage was _very_ severe. There was nothing I could have done to heal it. Had she still been able to, even Martel could not have healed it. You should have died. But you didn't, and I think I've finally figured out why."

Stepping off from his perch, Yuan walked over to the cot and reached down. "This crystal," he said, running his fingertips across the crystal embedded on top of Kratos' right hand. "A Cruxis Crystal, you called it. The Elder Guardian gave it to you, correct?"

"Yes, when I was very young," Kratos frowned, his confusion evident as he gazed up at his companion.

"Do not worry, I will not be asking about your true age this time," Yuan said, his lips curling up in a small smirk at the memory of an old joke that had been allowed to continue for far longer than it should have. But the moment passed quickly, and his detached look returned. "I do not think he would have given it to you if he had realized its true nature."

"What do you mean?" Kratos asked, his confusion only deepening at Yuan's words.

"You didn't die because the crystal replaced what was torn from you with its own energy. But it is a lifeless energy, unnatural," Yuan stated as he released Kratos' hand and turned back towards his computers, "It's most likely deadening your senses and your emotions along with them. But that's not all it's doing," he hesitated then, the disinterest fading from his voice and being replaced with something that sounded suspiciously like concern, "It's absorbing your soul, or whatever remains of it, into itself. It's a slow process, but... I don't... I don't know how to stop it."

---

_Originally, I had planned to try and keep this as close to canon as I could. Unfortunately, another plot bunny managed to insinuate itself into this one. So I'll just say right now that the majority of what I'm going to be doing with the Great Kharlan Tree really isn't part of the game. Hope you enjoy!_


	2. Cause and Effect

**Splintered Fragments  
Memory File 02 - Cause and Effect  
_by Meimi_**

---

Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with Namco or anyone who hold rights to Tales of Symphonia. It isn't mine, I'm just playing with it.

Spoiler Warning: The entirety of Tales of Symphonia. If you haven't beaten the game at least once and don't want to be spoiled, read no further.

---

Sunlight glittered brilliantly through the trees as Yuan made his way sedately down the forest path. He was in search of someone, but he was in no hurry. Truth be known, it would probably be for the best if he took his time and let his bubbling irritation cool down a bit. Having to mediate between the half-elven workers and Mithos on construction of the new tower -and seal- for Luna -and her pet _bird_- was taxing at best, infuriating at worst. He could sympathize with his people, to a point. Who in their right mind would believe that a little brat was in charge of such a vast undertaking, after all? But knowing this did not stop the ever growing urge to resort to violence when they felt like being obstinate for the umpteenth time.

Their varying, yet similar, reactions to Kratos did not help their standing in his eyes - or Mithos' for that matter- in the least. He could understand fear in the face of an apparent human, even anger, and yes, resentment. He could even understand why they still continued to feel that way regardless that their _overseers_ happened to trust said human implicitly. No, what really set his teeth to grinding was the fact that Kratos always stood there and accepted any and all dark looks and snide comments they sent his way like an unfeeling lump.

That ongoing irritation, of course, was only one of the reasons that he was now out here in the woods in search of said human. Kratos had disappeared sometime around midmorning. No doubt he was out here somewhere communing with nature and that _thing_ he had rescued once upon a time. _Noishe_ was its name if he remembered correctly. It wasn't that his absence was a deterrent to the project. No, in fact, it had the opposite effect. So that really wasn't the main reason that Yuan was traipsing around looking for him. No, it was something far more worrisome.

Lately, Kratos had been exhibiting a rather disturbing personality quirk -or should that be lack of-. It was almost as if Kratos was becoming more and more like him everyday, and loathe as Yuan was to admit it, it was starting to scare him. It just wasn't _right_ for the Guardian to be so very dead on the inside. Just... not right at all.

Yuan sighed softly and glanced up through the canopy of branches above. When exactly had Kratos' wellbeing become his own personal project? ...No, he had no need to ask himself that. He knew exactly when it had happened. Dear, precious -_beloved_- Martel, so caring and thoughtful even in death.

---

The world was falling apart right before his eyes and he honestly didn't give a damn about it one way or the other. His own world had already fallen to ash. It was all over. Martel was dead. Mithos had gone mad. The Great Kharlan Tree was ablaze and their... "friend" was dying, his life trickling out between his fingers. He couldn't seem to hold onto it. The instant he thought that he had managed to catch ahold of Kratos' life force, it vanished from his grasp as if only a puff of smoke, a miniscule waft that fled before the burning fury that signaled their horrendous failure.

He should be grieving, wallowing in the cold, empty pit that had replaced his insides. Instead he was trying to save the life of a stupid human and he had no idea why. Mithos has warned him away from Martel's... _body_ on pains of death and he just didn't have the energy or will to fight with the distraught boy. So why was he fighting a hopeless battle with death instead, one he was fated to lose? Why couldn't he just let him die?

Yuan smiled bitterly as he gently brushed his fingers across Kratos' forehead, burning leaves whipping around them while mana fell like rain. So much life... and none of it would save them. They were all going to die. The world couldn't survive without the great tree. There was no more hope. No more anything. Well, it wasn't so bad then. He wouldn't grieve for long.

_Save him_.

Yuan winced as the soft, familiar voice ghosted through his mind. He wasn't sure whether it was a form of self-imposed madness or if it was really her, but he answered nonetheless. "I can't. Martel, I can't. Even if I were a healer, I can't stop him from dying. I can't stop any of it."

_Have faith, dear one. Have faith_.

Yuan gave a hollow laugh at that. In a world bereft of hope, what good would faith do him? He looked up as he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Mithos had clambered to his feet and was now walking determinedly towards the hulking mass of flames that had once been the Great Kharlan Tree. The Eternal Sword glimmered in his hands and he was muttering something, though the roar of the blaze made it impossible to hear _anything_. Perhaps Mithos, in his madness, had decided to be merciful and end it all now. Yuan couldn't quite seem to muster up any sort of feeling other than disjointed bemusement at that thought. If Mithos wanted to destroy the world, then good for him. Yuan would rather join Martel sooner rather than later.

No. Wait. If Mithos was leaving them behind then that meant that he would be left alone. For the first time in his rather lonesome life, the half-elf felt inexplicably and irrationally terrified of that very concept. He didn't want to be alone. He didn't want to be left alone in this place of death. Why couldn't they stay? Why did they all have to leave? Why couldn't they take him with them?

_Save our friend_.

"Don't leave me here alone."

---

Yuan shook his head sharply at those abhorrent memories. He would _not_ wallow. He had already done enough of that to last a lifetime and knew that doing so wouldn't solve any of his present problems. Mithos needed _some_one to reign him in and Kratos, apparently, needed a nursemaid. True, there were other looming problems, saving the worlds being at the top of the list and helping his fellow half-elves escape the hatred of the humans and elves being somewhere near that. But none of that really seemed to matter when dealing with his companions.

Very well, if that was what he had been reduced to, then so be it. He could play babysitter and nursemaid to those two if it was needed. _One_ of them had to stay somewhat sane, after all. If that role fell to him, then he would accept it. For now.

Shivering slightly at a cool breeze, Yuan tugged his traveling cloak a little tighter around himself. This chill was completely out of season. It should be much warmer at the tail end of spring. But then, that wasn't the only thing that was out of place, now was it? The half-elf squinted as he looked up at the sun. It didn't look quite right to him. It seemed almost... washed out, too pale for spring. Too distant. And it wasn't just the sun, Yuan frowned as he looked around him, studying the trees critically. Not enough leaves had sprouted to be healthy. And even that wasn't all, for the very air told the tale as well. It was thin, not noticeably so unless the person breathing it had dealt with thinner atmospheres -Derris-Kharlan being a rather good example-, but still too thin for such a low elevation.

This world was failing. It was a gradual decline, as expected after Mithos' rather inane solution, but it would continue to do so unless something was done to stop it. Which brought it all around full circle to yet another one of Mithos' inane ideas. Grudgingly, he would admit that it would probably work, but only as a stop-gap measure. They would have to come up with a more permanent solution eventually. Unfortunately, he had no idea of where to even start when trying to solve that particular problem. Which was why he was in the woods searching for a far more mundane problem. And one that he had just found.

Kratos.

The red-haired swordsman was seated at the base of a gnarled tree, staring dispassionately down at his hands. Noishe was sprawled out beside him, snuffling contentedly around in the grass. Kratos did not look up at Yuan's approach, but the half-elf wasn't fool enough to think that he hadn't noticed. No matter what the recent odd state of being was doing to him, Kratos' senses hadn't diminished in the least. He was still incredibly dangerous to the wrong people, which thankfully did not include a certain blue-haired half-elf.

While Kratos did nothing to acknowledge Yuan presence, _Noishe_ certainly seemed quite eager to take up the slack. The evil, green _thing_ had instantly clambered to its feet upon noticing him and had raced over to give him its usual _disgusting_ greeting. Yuan cursed rather viciously as he wiped the slobber off of his face, giving that _thing_ the evil eye as it galloped happily in circles around him. One of these days he would take great glee in finding out if its pelt would make a satisfactory rug.

"Done so soon?" Kratos asked in a blank, monotone voice as he continued to stare at his hands in disinterest.

"Construction is still in progress," Yuan answered matter-of-factly as he gave Noishe one final murderous look before turning his full attention on his companion, "I simply took my leave of them for the moment."

"Rather counter-productive of you," Kratos murmured flatly as he finally glanced up at the half-elf, "If something comes up, Mithos will be forced to seek you out for they will certainly not listen to him."

Yuan found himself almost shivering at the hollow look in the human's eyes. They shouldn't be like that. _He_ shouldn't be like that, so bereft of life. "That's his problem," Yuan found himself muttering absently. He couldn't fix this. He didn't even know where to start anymore.

_How useless you've become._ Shaking his head as that bitter little voice whispered out from the back of his mind, Yuan turned his back on the reclining swordsman and instead found his gaze searching out the sun. The fading light of a slowly dying planet was so much easier to face than the personal, empty loneliness of his own failures.

_I can't do this anymore._

"He still needs you." The voice cut easily through the rising hysteria that wanted to engulf him whenever he let himself actually _think_ about their... _his_ predicament. Yes, that's right. He was still needed.

Shaking his head again, as if to clear it, Yuan shot back, "He still needs both of us." He was rather proud of how steady and even his tone sounded regardless of how adrift he felt at the moment.

"I suppose," Kratos said, his voice dipping back into a soft murmur as he nonchalantly transferred his gaze back down to his hands, "But they will not listen to me."

"You're human, they're afraid of you," Yuan pointed out needlessly as he turned back around and walked over towards his companion, stepping carefully over the tree's knobby, twisted roots. "But regardless of your regrettable parentage, they'll listen to you before they'll heed a bratty kid."

Kratos chuckled flatly, sounding more as if he were doing it because it was expected of him than as if he actually felt like doing so. "Such reverence they show for the one who saved all their lives."

"He _is_ still a child," Yuan commented blandly as he gingerly seated himself down beside Kratos. He tucked his cloak securely around him, then crossed his arms and tried not to shiver. It was supposed to be spring.

"You are cold," Kratos deduced after a few moments of surprising companionable silence had passed between them.

"That is because it _is_ cold," Yuan muttered waspishly as he finally gave up and let his body do what it felt like, namely, shiver.

"Hmm," Kratos hummed as he eyed the half-elf speculatively before turning his gaze to the center of the clearing and the protozoan that was happily rolling around in the grass there. "Noishe," he called out gently to garner the creature's attention. Noishe perked up eagerly, giving his most favored being in the entire world his undivided attention.

"What are you doing?" Yuan asked apprehensively, his eyes narrowing in growing suspicion.

"Solving your problem," Kratos answered offhandedly before calling out again, "Noishe, Yuan is cold."

Noishe yipped happily and zipped over towards the pair, giving Yuan no chance to even voice an objection. The evil, green, _furry_ thing gifted the half-elf with yet another happy lick on the face before flopping down practically on top of him. "Thanks ever so much," Yuan wheezed acidly as he swiped at his face and attempted to lever evil personified off of him enough so that he could breathe.

"Happy to oblige," Kratos said cheerfully, causing Yuan to give him a rather startled look.

The amused lilt in Kratos' tone actually sounded _genuine_ for once. Perhaps the sickness -for lack of a better word- wasn't quite as severe as Yuan had first assumed. That didn't mean it wasn't advancing, just that it wasn't as bad as he had thought. Yet.

With the immediate reason for his worry reasserting itself, Yuan glanced over at Kratos' hands and scowled. The swordsman was wearing gloves, a habit he seemed to have picked up of late as well as a penchant for avoiding Yuan at any possible opportunity. _Something_ was going on, something Yuan didn't know about -yet- and something he didn't want Yuan to know about. So what could it be now?

"You do realize that you cannot hide it from me forever, don't you?" Yuan asked coldly as he glared accusingly over at the only human he had ever considered worth his attention - and grudging concern-.

Kratos shifted uncomfortably away from the half-elf and sighed wearily, "No, I suppose not."

"Show me the crystal," Yuan commanded flatly, not caring how it may have sounded. He was actually a bit angry at the very idea of Kratos trying to hide something from him. Was the idiot completely oblivious to the fact that he was a bit _worried_ about him?

Kratos sighed again, allowing his shoulders to droop in defeat as he reluctantly tugged the glove off and allowed the light of day to touch the Cruxis Crystal for the first time in several days. It was not a welcome sight.

"What is this?" Yuan hissed in shocked dismay as he dragged his arms out from underneath Noishe and grabbed Kratos' hand, yanking it closer for further inspection. The entire appendage seemed to be covered in crystal... or was it actually _turning_ into crystal? "When did this start?"

"Just a few days ago," Kratos said quietly as Yuan continued to study his hand. It was still his, regardless of whatever it was that was happening to it and it still worked properly -for now-. It was just... mostly crystal now, instead of flesh.

"Why is it doing this?" Yuan asked absently, more to himself than anything else. He knew that if he wanted an answer he'd have to figure it out on his own. But this was so... strange. He hadn't been expecting such a bizarre new symptom. And yes, he was quite sure that it was yet another symptom of the overlying problem. But what was the cause of it all? If he could just figure that out, then surely he could fix it.

It was while he was pondering this new unwelcome element of their dilemma that a foreign yet familiar sensation intruded upon his mind and found something similar dwelling there. Yuan shuddered and abruptly dropped Kratos' hand as the heavy, black sensation twisted around inside of him. This was... he knew what this was. Oh yes, he knew well what this was. Loneliness. Was that what this was all about? The cursed thing was _lonely_? Yuan glanced sharply at the crystal before turning away and tuning everything out.

If that was the problem then what could any of them possibly do to fix it? How did one go about curing a blasted stone of loneliness? And this feeling, it was so all-consuming. He could easily drown in it if he wasn't careful. But no, that didn't seem to be its purpose with him. It felt more as if it was commiserating with his own brand of loneliness. Was that it then?

_"Don't leave me here alone."_

Yuan froze as that hated, unwanted memory echoed out from the depths of his mind. He had been so desperate then, grasping at straws even as he had despaired of being left there alone with only death for company. Was it his fault then? Had he somehow awakened this thing with his own selfish desires and condemned his _friend_ to a slow, empty death instead of a swift, merciful one?

_Did I do this?_

"Yuan."

"Yuan?"

"Yuan!"

The half-elf glanced up questioningly as he was brusquely shaken back to reality. Kratos was standing over him now -When had he gotten up?-, giving him something of a worried look. "Yes?" he answered vaguely as his mind tried to right itself from the pit it had all too eagerly pitched itself into.

"Mithos is calling for you," Kratos explained plainly as he shooed Noishe off of his companion, earning himself a short grumble of protest from the protozoan.

"He is?" Yuan murmured softly as he tilted his head slightly and listened. Yes, that was Mithos' voice yelling irritably in the distance. Well, it looked as if it was time for him to get back to mediating between the brat and their half-elven workers. A task he certainly didn't look forward to. Silently accepting Kratos' offered hand -gloved again-, he swiftly pulled himself to his feet and brushed himself off.

"I will find a way to fix this," he said resolutely as he looked up and pinned Kratos with a rather piercing glare. Yes, he would fix this. If it was his fault, then he would fix it, and if it wasn't, he would still fix it. He wouldn't be left behind. Nay, he _refused_ to be left alone.

Kratos wasn't going to get out of life that easily if he had anything to say about it.

And he most certainly did.


End file.
